The human vaginal microbiota is a critical determinant of vaginal health. These communities
live in close association with the vaginal epithelium and rely on host tissues for resources …

Neurodevelopment is a complex process governed by both intrinsic and extrinsic signals.
While historically studied by researching the brain, inputs from the periphery impact many …

The incidence of preterm birth exceeds 10% worldwide. There are significant disparities in
the frequency of preterm birth among populations within countries, and women of African …

Background Bacterial cells in the human body account for 1–3% of total body weight and are
at least equal in number to human cells. Recent research has focused on understanding …

Despite the critical role of the human microbiota in health, our understanding of microbiota
compositional dynamics during and after pregnancy is incomplete. We conducted a case …

Successful pregnancy requires carefully-coordinated communications between the mother
and fetus. Immune cells and cytokine signaling pathways participate as mediators of these …

It has been long understood that the vaginal microflora is crucial in maintaining a normal
physiological environment for the host and its involvement is deemed indispensable for …

Viral infections during pregnancy have long been considered benign conditions with a few
notable exceptions, such as herpes virus. The recent Ebola outbreak and other viral …

Failure to predict and understand the causes of preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal
morbidity and mortality, have limited effective interventions and therapeutics. From a cohort …

The composition and structure of the pregnancy vaginal microbiome may influence
susceptibility to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Studies on the pregnant vaginal microbiome …